Healthy Living

Hello everyone! As you can see, this is a blog from me, Christine, Dave’s wife. I know you have been reading about Dave’s journey into his health, fitness and taking up running. I promise, he will be getting back to writing.

It’s been about a year since I wrote about my journey. I have struggled with my weight since my teenage years. I have tried everything. Some worked but as soon as you stop having a focus, guess what, the weight slowly starts creeping up again. Sure, people always saw me as ‘the life of the party’ as I was always an extrovert. But, deep down inside I knew what I really looked like. I mean, I would hate to look at myself in the mirror. I would wear baggy clothes. Heck, when you are a size 26-28, I think all clothes are made baggy.

My inspiration, always first to God, is my wonderful loving husband, Dave. You know his story. He took up running, watched what he ate and was able to lose a lot of weight, get fit and be off his diabetes medication!

I saw how focus and determined he was. And he kept sticking to it. I first joined My Fitness Pal in June 2015 and started logging everything I ate and drank and the exercise I did. Hey, walking counts! I realized, it is about portion control. You can eat almost what you like, as long as you don’t go over the calories they say you should have daily. (You would think that because I have been a vegetarian for 25 years that I would weigh 100 lbs! No, that isn’t the case!) Then, in mid July 2015, we joined Planet Fitness. Guess what? I fell ‘in love’ with the weight strengthening machines. At that Planet Fitness, I worked out on 16 machines. We joined a new PF where we moved to and I do 18 machines. I started with being able to do 20-25 lbs on the machines and now, I average 150 lbs!! I also have a love/hate relationship with the darn Elliptical machine.

I do try to walk whenever I can. In the winter, when it is too cold to go out, you will find me jogging in place watching a TV show or dancing around. I hope no one is watching me through the windows!

It has been a struggle during the last 1 1/2 years. Sure, frustration kicks in when you are staying at the same weight, or you might fluctuate between 2-3 lbs like a yo-yo. Then, Dave took my photo last week, (the one on the right), and I actually really liked how I looked! I realized the frustrations are all well worth it!

Sometimes, I still look at myself in the mirror and I guess I might see a glimpse of who I was. I remind myself, that the only thing that changed is me on the outside. I am still the nice and extroverted person on the inside.

The photo on the left is from Oct 2005. The one on the right was from last week. That’s 75 lbs lost, numerous inches, and a total of 5 -6 pant sizes down!! And I lost 60 lbs and 4 pant sizes just in the last 1 1/2 years. It took a lot of determination, sweat, patience and my husband Dave, who was my inspiration!

It doesn’t matter how old you are to finally do something and stick to it! (Can you believe I just turned 49! I feel like I am 29 years old.) I am still on my journey. I want to inspire others, especially women who struggle with their weight. Lets do this and get healthy!

One foot in front of the other. That’s a mantra I’ve seen repeated many times in blogs on WordPress and from other runners on Twitter. I put it to good use today. After the 80 degree heat on Monday, today was overcast and in the upper 60’s. Perfect running weather. So off I went. I’ve gotten into a routine of running a mile, walking a mile and then running half a mile. That was my plan for today as I headed for the park.

I started out with a brisk walk for three laps before launching into my run. The usual heavy legs started to set in around lap three, but I pushed through it. It didn’t seem as bad today as I settled into lap five, the lap that takes me to a mile. So I decided to keep going. I usually run a mile and a halfway with a walking break after the mile marker. So I figured I could get the mile and a half in one go. As I headed into lap seven I still felt I had more in the tank so I just went for it. I’ve never managed to run two whole miles in a single workout before. I got close once but had to stop running one lap short of the first mile.

Heading into lap 10 I hit The Wall. My legs just wanted to stop but I pushed on, refusing to come up short this time. The One Foot In Front Of The Other mantra chanted over and over in my head as I followed word with deed and I completed my first ever two consecutive two mile run. It was such a good feeling. I managed to complete my two mile run in just 21 minutes. I’m really pleased with that time. It shows I pushed myself hard. I guess my fitness level is coming up. I’m glad I took advantage of the cooler weather to push myself as I know the 80’s will be back after today and we’re going to a convention next week. As long as I see progress that will give me the push to maintain my new healthy lifestyle.

When I got home I tested my sugar. It was 88, a good number. I love how my body is responding to my healthier lifestyle. Getting more active is a great way to get diabetes under control. I really feel upbeat and hopeful that I can get off medication altogether. That’s my goal. I’ll find out how close I am to achieving that when I go back to the doctor next month. Running is part of my life now.